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Secret Formulas: How Sweet IS coke?

What is the causeof the sweetness of drink?Where does it come from-what do you think?It comes from the sugar.Let me tell you -the more spoonfuls of sugarthe sweeter the brew.-GEMS

The next step in making their own formulas was to realize just how much sugar is in Coke. In advance I mixed up three concentrates of sugar-water. One had 2 teaspoons in 16 ounces; one had 6 teaspoons in 16 ounces and one had 12 teaspoons in 16 ounces. Their task was to taste the sugar-water concentrates, starting with the least sweet, and compare it with the Cola. (Coca-Cola actually has 14 teaspoons per 16 ounces but the other flavors balance it out, so that it should taste just as sweet at the 12 teaspoon concentration.) This was to give them an idea of just how much sugar is in Coke, so when they make their own cola formulas, they will know how much sugar to add, and that other flavors will make the drink seem less sweet.

Another related activity that can be done is to look at the amount of sugar in other foods. One teaspoon is equivalent to 4 grams of sugar. Students can use a teaspoon to measure how many grams of sugar various food contains.